Clear eyes full heart can do anything

 The dog days of summer are finally starting to give way to the changing temperature of fall, which can only mean that College Football is not far away. The Ohio State Buckeyes shocked the sporting world last year with their inevitable run though the first ever College Football Playoff beating heavily favored Alabama and Oregon.

Breaking down the top 5 Fantasy Running Back options for 2015

Fantasy football is an ever changing universe, with draft strategies and personal opinions changing almost as frequently as NFL rosters.  There is no better position to see that than the Running Back position. Ten years ago it was common knowledge that you had to draft two RB’s with your first two picks, why?

Analyzing The Marathon

Analyzing this piece from Grantland I first noticed the date the piece was published, only one day following the bombing at the marathon. I thought this would be important in reading the rest of the article, knowing that the event was still very fresh in the memory of everyone around the country and especially anyone at the marathon when the bombs went off. Knowing that I thought it was courageous of Pierce, the author, to start the piece off with how melancholy the marathon had been in the past. To Bostontonians they loved the event but they almost took just as much pleasure making fun of it for “monumental inconvenience, its occasionally towering self-regard, and the annual attempts by Boston-area television stations to use it to win another shelf full of local Emmy’s”. It would have been easy for Pierce to, like most of the general media, just discuss the sheer devastation that was felt at the event especially since he was at the marathon when this all occurred. This context really works well by the time we get to the end of the article.

Using the personal stories from runners and the family members of the runners at the event gave the story a face, it made it easier to picture someone at the event at the time of the bombing. Also since all the people he interviewed where at different areas at the time of the bombing which really told the whole story, not just the people who were at ground zero but also runners who had yet to reach the finish. Starting with Kathy Hynes and Harry Smith who were the farthest away from the bombing out of all the people interviewed, you get a sense for the confusion of what had happened only a couple of miles away. Since police couldn’t speculate on the sheer magnitude of what had happened all they could tell the runners was the race is cancelled to do an incident. But in the world of social media and instant messaging it didn’t take long for word to reach around the entire Boston area, and even the entire world, of what had happened. This is where the article really started to take a serious turn, when it starts talking about the deaths and the countless people injured, some permanently.

Calling back in the article to probably the most infamous bombing in American history, 9/11, was an important comparison to have. While it may have been from someone he interviewed it helped describe the cautious that happened with so many people on the street not knowing what was going on and the panic that ensued.

The article in general to me tried to stay away from the overall story line of what happened on that day, but instead tried to find the human aspect. This is why he interviewed such a wide spread amount of people who had very different viewpoints of the bombing. All of these different experiences and different viewpoints of the same event is something that still to this day I haven’t seen done this well. We've seen the interviews and stories of the victims of the bombing, but not from the countless others who were lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. It also showed the courage of the volunteers who were at the scene, example being the tent that was originally setup for runners who were dehydrated or just too physically drained from the marathon was quickly turned into a medical ward for all the on lookers who were injured. Without having to be asked or told they gave up their seats for the people who truly needed it at that time, it might have been an easy decision for those involved but still seeing little acts like that after such a devastating event is what needs to be looked at almost as much as what happened.

Going back to what Pierce said at the beginning of the article about how the marathon had been treated as a joke to most people from Boston we come full circle at the end of the article. He believes that someday the event may again become lighter harded and something people can joke about. But now and for a while when people come to the Boston Marathon or watch the coverage on T.V. they will go back to that day on April 15^th, 2013. When three people lost their lives, other were mutilated causing them to lose limbs, there pain and the pain of anyone who was there will live on forever and even worse every year the marathon comes back to Boston. But part of the healing process is time, and time and patience is what is needed for Boston to rally and strengthen after this event. With the hindsight we have now we know that’s exactly what the people of Boston did, and while they wish the bombing never happened they are better and stronger for it. They will always stay Boston Strong. 

The Hall of Fame flaw

The Hall of Fame for any sport is considered as the end goal for most professional athletes. This honor justifies everything that the player had to sacrifice during his career, the time put in, the sleepless night preparing for the season.

The Marathon: An Analysis of Grantland's piece

            There are several aspects to The Marathon by Grantland.com that gives different accounts of the Boston Marathon bombing, but it also feels like it is all from the author’s vision. After looking up the author, Charles Pierce, I was surprised to find out it wasn’t Bill Simmons. Pierce does a beautiful job explaining the scene going from all the different points of the horror: after, during and different accounts of the tragedy.

Tiger's Effect on Golf

This year, the crowd and the 14 million television viewers watching on the final day of the Masters witnessed the rise of the next generation of golfers. Of the Top Five finishers, three of the golfers were 25 years old or younger including the eventual Champion Jordan Spieth, who is 21. This Masters victory not only signifies his arrival but it announces the arrival of a younger generation. This rise can be attributed to Tiger Woods.

Regardless if he reaches the all-time majors record or not, Tiger Woods will go down as one of the greatest golfers of all time. More importantly, he will be the most influential figure in the history of the sport. The legends like Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, and Arnold Palmer will all take a back seat to him on being the most influential person in golf history.

Who is a golfer that inspired a younger generation to play at a higher level? Have you ever thought about it? An argument could be made that Tiger Woods is the one and only golfer who exceeded at this.

Jack Nicklaus or any other golfers did not have the same effect on golf as Tiger did when he first entered the 1997 Masters. The reason was because Tiger Woods was so young when he won his first. If you go back into golf history, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and other major winners were competing and winning Major tournaments were winning in their twenties but they were not dominating the field. Aside from Nicklaus, it was uncommon for an amateur or even a young pro in his twenties to win one of the four major tournaments, let alone dominant. This is what made Tiger special.

He broke the mold. As a 21-year old golfer, Woods won the 1997 Masters while setting the tournament record. All of these old-time records were set by men in their thirties or forties. In fact, that was the case for most of the tournaments. Golf before Tiger Woods was generally an older profession. Woods' victory was so rare and unheard of that it inspired younger golfers to put forth the effort and work ethic to become as good as Woods.

This Nike commercial that aired before the Masters illustrates how every current young golfer felt when watching Tiger Woods play. The young golfer in the commercial evolved into Rory McIlroy. McIlroy symbolizes a lot of golfers of this generation. As Tiger began his torrid 1999-2009 golf years, this younger generation watched and continued to work hard to one day reach that level.

Almost 18 years after Woods' first Masters win, look at the amount of young golfers playing professionally and winning major tournaments in their twenties. McIlroy has four major wins. The recent Masters winner Spieth is only 21. Webb Simpson won the 2012 U.S. Open at 27 years old. Keagan Bradley won the 2011 PGA Championship at 25 years old. The list goes on and on about the young, talented golfers.

Woods understands the influence he had on the younger generation of golfers like McIlroy. However,  he does not realize that he has affected more golfers than just McIlroy. This younger generation grew up watching and wanting to play like Woods in a similar way to how Woods wanted to be like Nicklaus when Woods was younger. The only difference is Woods had a much larger affect because of his success at young age.

"Golf used to treated as a leisurely pastime," Woods said in the interview. "Now it is considered a sport."

This change within golf is directly related to Tiger Woods. The way Woods was winning tournaments especially when he was in his twenties was astounding. He won 8 majors before turning 30 years old. He was beating the field by numerous strokes. As Woods was doing this, these younger golfers like McIlroy and Spieth would practice and play with the intention of one day playing better than Tiger Woods when they reached 21 years old.

Nicklaus certainly was a terrific golfer in his twenties but much of his accolades came in his thirties. Woods was different. He received immediate attention by being the youngest major winner and dominating the tournament field.

People commented on how Woods would change the game for black golfers and would lead the charge in the influx of black golfers. It has not happened yet, but if the real trend was how Woods changed the perception of golf. Woods not only proved he was a rare talent like Nicklaus. He also proved any hard working young golfer could make the PGA Tour and be a dominant player. It is this drive that has elevated the play of the new young generation of golfers, and it is this drive that has made golf more than just a "leisurely pastime."

Damian Lillard: Others before Self

How long does it take to become an overnight national sensation?

Zimmer Live Tweet Masters

Here are my tweets from covering the 2015 Masters with #Com475

Jackie Robinson Little league: The real problem behind the scandal.

The joy that baseball fans felt while watching a little known little league team from the south side of Chicago has now turned to utter and complete disappointment.

Jackie Robinson West: It's not all the kids' fault

For all the controversy involved in the Jackie Robinson West scandal, people should step back and remember one thing:  it is not the kids’ fault. I do not disagree that using out-of-district players is against the Little League rules but we should not fully blame the kids for this.

Jackie Robinson West kids punished enough, coaches, parents & Little League still need punishing

The kids from Jackie Robinson West have suffered enough. The coaches, administrators and people inside the Little League on the other still need to be held more accountable. The Little League champions for America were recently stripped of that title. Any postseason suspensions or plans to punish the team further only hurts the kids. The adults need to be punished.

Washington State Men's Basketball Hosts Arizona State University

            The Washington State University Men’s Basketball team is having a decent first year under new head coach Ernie Kent. The Cougars are 10-13 (4-7) with seven games remaining, including two games against Top 15 teams.

Washington State baseball preview

2014 saw Washington State Baseball show glimpses of a team we have not seen in this decade under Danny Marbut. The Cougars 24-30 record and specifically their 14-16 finish in the Pac 12 was the best success the team has had in conference play since the 2009-10 season that saw them finish 3^rd in the conference and earned them a spot in the NCAA Regionals.

While the Cougars did show great improvement, especially on the offense side of the ball, 2014-15 brings a fresh set of new faces to the lineup. With the Cougars losing both their top two contact bats in 3^rd Baseman Nick Tanielu and utility player Colin Slaybaugh and leading home run hitter Yale Rosen to graduation the Cougs will need to replace these bats in their lineup.  Both Rosen and Tanielu were named to the Pac-12 All Conference team last year for their efforts. All three players were drafted in last years Major League Basbeall’s first year player draft, Rosen being selected in the 11^th round by the San Diego Padres, Tanielu going in the 14^th to the Houston Astros and Slaybaugh going in the 26^th to the Yankees.

The Cougs are returning three players from their starting lineup from last year, starting 2^nd baseman Ian Sagdal, Outfielder Ben Roberts and Catcher P.J. Jones. All three upperclassmen will be looked at to bring leadership to a team that has not finished better than 7^th in the Pac 12 since 2010. Returning bench players who are expected to make an impact on this year’s team include Tanielu’s replacement at 3^rd base Patrick Mcgrath and Outfielders Wes Leow and Cameron Frost, all of which combined for only about 150 at bats last year.

While the lineup will be filled with new faces this year the Cougars are returning half of their pitching staff from last year. This includes the ace of last year’s staff Joe Pistorese who led the Cougars in innings pitched and complete games last year, and was tied for second in wins. The true strength in this year’s pitching staff will be coming out of the bullpen, with the top three relievers from last year all returning. This includes closer Ian Hamilton who will be returning with his signature blonde curls and team leading 15 saves last year.

The Cougars first series will a non-conference tournament held by Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas starting on February 13^th. The Cougars will play four games in four days against Stephen F. Austin twice (20-35), University of Texas-Arlington (33-26) and Missouri State (26-31). It will be important for the Cougs to start the year better than they did last year, going only 3-7 in their first ten games last year. The Cougs do not have their first home game until February 26^th when they will take on UC Riverside, a team that beat the Cougs last year 12-7 in Riverside, California.

Will this finally be the year the Cougar Baseball team takes that next step and returns back to the top of the Pac-12? Something Cougar fans have not seen since the days of  legendary baseball coach Chuck Brayton who’s career record of 1162–523–8 (.689) and 11 straight conference championships has yet to be matched. Only one thing is clear, this year’s Cougar Baseball team will be one to keep your eye on.

 

Cougars try to salvage road trip at Oregon

The Washington State Cougars men's basketball team is 10-12 and 4-6 in Pac-12 Conference play following its 55-50 loss to the Oregon State Beavers. The Cougars have lost five of their last six games. The team will need to make a quick turnaround as they need to travel a few miles south to Eugene to take on an Oregon Duck team looking for revenge.

Cougars come out ahead against Stanford

After a 76-67 defeat to the California Golden Bears on Thursday, the WSU Cougars fell into a 4-game losing streak where they looked out of sync and inconsistent. Also with one of the top offenses in the Pac-12 in Stanford coming into Pullman, it did not seem like things were going to get better. However, the Cougars showed once again that there is something different about them with Ernie Kent at head coach: resiliency. The erased an early 14-point lead and came back to win a thriller 89-88 over the Stanford Cardinal.

The Cougars were led by their senior guard DaVonte Lacy who had 25 points. Sophomore forward Josh Hawkinson notched another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Cougars also received help from two players who had been struggling of late. Sophomore guard Ike Iroegbu had 14 points and sophomore wing player Que Johnson also had 14 points in his first start of the season.

The Cougars had relied on Ny Redding as a starter in the previous 14 games but Ernie Kent decided to switch up the starting lineup and the change paid off in the end. Redding came off the bench and had six points and three assists. It was truly a team effort in the win. Each member in the starting lineup for the Cougars finished with double digit points.

Stanford was led by the Pac-12 leading scorer Chasson Randle. Randle had 33 points and nine rebounds to lead the Cardinal. Guard Anthony Brown and center Stefan Nastic each added 10 points to the Cardinal's cause. Also, the Cardinal saw the return of their star freshman forward Reid Travis, who had been out since January 2 with a stress fracture in his leg.

The Cougars were in deep trouble early as Stanford was controlling pace of the game often. Half way through the first half, Stanford was up 29-15 over the Cougars. Ike Iroegbu was the only Cougar player playing well at the time. Then the Cougars started driving to the basket. They got Stanford into foul trouble and used the free throw line, good defensive possessions and two explosive dunks from Que Johnson to get back into the game. The Cougars actually led at halftime 41-40.

The second half was truly a back-and forth affair. The Cougars never allowed the Stanford Cardinal to take the lead but they could never push their lead beyond five points until 3:43 left in the game. DaVonte Lacy emerged in the second half and scored 20 of his 25 point in the second half.

Chasson Randle was the one player for the Stanford Cardinal who kept the game close. He made it a five point game with 2:46 remaining. The Cardinal made it interesting late but failed to tie the game as guard Roscoe Allen missed a game-tying floater with 21 seconds left. The Cougars pushed the lead to 87-83 before Nastic made a layup to make it 87-85. Ny Redding sealed the game with two free throws to make it 89-85 which were important too because guard Dorian Pickens made a three at the buzzer to make it 89-88.

The Cougars move to 10-11 and 4-5 in the Pac-12 Conference for the season. They head on the road to face the Oregon schools. The first one will be at Oregon State in Gill Coliseum Thursday, February 5 as the Cougars look to avenge a 62-47 loss in Pullman earlier this season.

Super Bowl Storylines

1. Revis and Sherman at the Super Bowl. First time these two have been mentioned together since their social media beef 2 years ago.
2. Brandon Browner meets his former team after leaving the Seahawks this past offseason.
3. Peter Carroll coaches against his former team. And faces the man who replaced him.
4. The most outspoken team in the NFL (Seahawks) faces the most media reserved and conservative team (Patriots).

Story lines for Super Bowl 49

1) Brandon Browner returning to play against Seattle for the first time since he left the team in the offseason. Along this storyline, Browner said Monday he'd do anything to win the SB including harm Richard Sherman. He was quoted saying, "I'm going to tell my teammates, 'Go hit that elbow, go hit that shoulder,' Try to break it if you can." (Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/1/26/7916165/super-bowl-xlix-2015-richard-sherman-brandon-browner-break-arm)

2) Tom Brady's legacy. People will always remember he won 3 Super Bowls early in his career, but will they also remember he lost his last 3 chances too? If the Patriots lose, it doesn't mean Brady doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, it just brings into question how people will truly remember him. Pats fans will remember the wins over the losses, but his doubters/haters will focus on the three straight losses (IF they lose). If they win, it will certainly help his case for Greatest QB of All-Time and it will silence people like me bringing up if his "legacy."

3) The NFL vs. Marshawn Lynch. The NFL seems more interested in fining or disciplining Lynch than anything. Now, I'm not a Seahawks fan, so I don't really have a feeling one way or another, but I think the NFL picks on him a little bit. I have changed my stance on making players talk, I still think they should, but fining/forcing a guy to talk is making it more of a spectacle than it should be. As lame of a storyline as I think it is, the NFL and Lynch have a mini back and forth going which is fun to watch as a fan.

475 In-Class: Seahawks Miracle

Seahawks Miracle

As they seem to do time after time, the Seattle Seahawks pulled out another incredible win. No one thought the now defending Champions could play in a more exciting NFC Championship than the game last year against San Francisco, with the deep touchdown to wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, and the tip by Richard Sherman to win the game. Well, we were wrong.

Only this time, the tip came from Green Bay Packers tight end Brandon Bostick when he misplayed the Seahawks last-stitch-effort-onside-kick to go win the game. Seattle recovered the kick and took the lead. And almost identical to last year, Kearse caught a 35 yard game-winning/go-ahead touchdown for the Seahawks. So, after being down, 16-0 at halftime and 16-7 with just over two minutes left, the Seahawks still found a way to win.

Kearse had been beat up all day, with almost every pass that came his way being intercepted. When it mattered most with the game on the line, he came through again. Now the Seahawks move to the Super Bowl to face a New England Patriots squad that unhinged the Indianapolis Colts. Unlike last year, the Seahawks will face a proved Super Bowl quarterback in Tom Brady, who has five Super Bowl appearances (this will be his six) and he’s won every one that wasn’t against the New York Giants.